I've always felt that the movie works better when I turn the colour down.
It's far more gothic, especially the underground scenes where the Phantom kidnaps Christine, and the disfigurement after the mask unveiling is far more effective.
I remember watching this as a child with my mother. In my memory it was in black and white. However a child's memory can be easily manipulated. Perhaps I just grew up assuming it was in b&w because it was an "old" movie, which meant b&w naturally. Lol
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Wow! Smack me now for not thinking of that obvious and logical reasoning! I grew up in the early 70's so colored tv's were the norm. However my dad was not a fan of television and went to lengths to keep us from watching. (ultimately not allowing us one) I can easily imagine it was a b&w set that was a hand-me-down from the grandparents. Who, btw had cable a good 10+ years before we did. I thank you for the knock on the head I was needing!
shareFirst time I saw this in the late 1960s was on "The Late Show" on CBS in New York City. We had a color TV by then, but the broadcast was in black-and-white - there was actually an advisory about this before it started. I think this was the case as well the second time I caught a telecast - I finally wrote to CBS about it - they replied that their film distributor was unable to supply a color print that was up to their standards.
Not sure if I'd seen it in color before I saw it on the big screen at a theater that specialized in vintage films, but that viewing was simply glorious, like watching a painting in motion - I stayed to see it twice. Subsequent viewings on TV were in color, as of course were the VHS and DVD releases (the latter is also glorious).
In my case, self-absorption is completely justified.